A new coffee shop will join the arts district at the ground level of Roosevelt Point’s North tower on Roosevelt and Third streets — and while this type of business may be common downtown, the owners’ story is not so common.
Co-owners Ray Lamb, 75, and Oliver Bryan, 25, met at a rehabilitation center after they had each been in separate bicycle accidents. The two will open Oliver’s Sophisticated Bean, or OSB, in late January.
“Just because I’m brain-injured doesn’t mean I’m not classy,” Bryan said, referring to his shop’s sophisticated title.
On Oct. 7, 2012, Oliver Bryan returned home after serving four years in the Navy. Just 22 days later, Bryan represented the Navy in a flag ceremony at an Arizona Cardinals game. On his way home from the ceremony, Bryan was in a near-fatal motorcycle accident.
“I went down a dead-end road and, not knowing this, I was going way too fast,” Bryan said.
Bryan said he flew 35 feet and landed on his head, not wearing a helmet at the time. After the accident, he was on life support for a week and in a coma for a month and a half.
Juli Bryan, Oliver’s mother, said she knew her son was strong-willed.
“It wasn’t as if I ever felt in my heart he was going to leave us,” she said.
“The 53 days he was there, we were there the whole time,” Oliver’s father, Gregory Bryan, said.
Oliver Bryan had all of his inpatient and outpatient services at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and was then accepted into a neurological rehabilitation program, the Center for Transitional Neuro-Rehabilitation (CTN).
It was at this center that Bryan and Lamb met.
Gregory Bryan, who is also the general manager of OSB, said Lamb had spent most of his life in Arizona owning and operating local and national banks. In June 2013, Lamb was in a bicycle accident in Colorado and returned to Arizona to receive treatment at CTN.
Bryan said he became friends with Lamb because they bonded over their love for backgammon.
“Every lunch we would just sit there and play, and we just developed this relationship,” Bryan said. “One day, after we both graduated from the program, he was like, ‘What are you doing?’ and I said, ‘Well I’m a student, but I’m so bored.'” They eventually set up a meeting and agreed to open the coffee shop.
Bryan said Lamb asked him to create a list and business plan, and then start looking at the products and profit margins.
“Then OSB was born,” he said.
Bryan’s parents showed immediate support of the coffee business plan and took on a role in the management.
“Our greatest goal of all is to just create community,” Juli Bryan said.
When it came to choosing a location for OSB, the Bryans knew downtown was the right location.
“Finally, Phoenix is starting to wake up,” Oliver Bryan said. “I want to get in now before the wave starts, I want to catch the wave.”
Gregory Bryan added, “For me, it was that whole community that’s going on down there. Just that vibe of the community, and kind of the vision of what Roosevelt Row is where it’s very eclectic.”
Gregory Bryan commented on the already high number of coffee shops downtown, but also said that “each one of them has their own little niche, and we definitely will have our own little niche; we’re definitely different than most.”
They plan to keep OSB open late.
“There’s no place for students to go and do homework at 9 or 10 at night,” Bryan said.
He said OSB will be open Monday-Thursday from 6 a.m. to midnight, Friday-Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m, and Sunday from 3 p.m. to midnight.
They said the eating options will also be a unique factor.
Juli Bryan, who will also be the kitchen manager, said she will offer local, organic, and gluten-free foods in the market price range.
“My goal is to provide the healthiest food possible at a price everyone can afford,” she said. Juli Bryan said OSB will also offer grocery items such as local eggs and bread for purchasing.
Oliver Bryan said OSB will serve beer and wine as well. The shop is currently in the process of getting a series 12 liquor license. Bryan said another benefit of the food is the fact everything will be served all day.
“With such a healthy menu, we’re really trying to draw in equal-minded people,” he said. “Or really anybody that wants a coffee or a beer.”
While Oliver Bryan is the operating owner, Lamb has a strong influence and is highly involved in the business-building process. He has also invested his personal funds into this business endeavor.
“Ray has an extreme passion for the brain-injury community,” Bryan said. “He’ll do anything he can to create and find jobs for different survivors.”
In the future, Bryan said he plans to hire fellow brain injury survivors, something Lamb had requested.
“It’s a sense of unrealism,” Bryan said. “I’m a brain injury survivor. I shouldn’t be opening my own business, especially at 25 years old. This is not common.”
Bryan said his accident morphed his character. He said, before his accident, he was cold and selfish and “not a good person.”
“I’m not the same person I was,” Bryan said.
“Most people with brain injuries hate and feel sorry for themselves,” he said. “I look at it as if this was the best day of my life. This was the day I was saved. I got basically a redo switch. I could become whoever I wanted.”
Contact the reporter at melissa.szenda@asu.edu.
